


School Time

by DriftingAlongTheWind



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Maybe - Freeform, SO MUCH FLUFF, Some angst, Some minor violence, Still no smut, and innocent, because i don't like smut with these characters, but so much fucking fluff, eventually, perhaps to lovers, should be a lighthearted one, too young
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 16:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12324771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DriftingAlongTheWind/pseuds/DriftingAlongTheWind
Summary: Adrien was denied the ability to go to school. However, he still manages to sneak out of his house and wander the streets of Paris. During his wanderings, a certain black-haired girl catches his eye. Will he manage to get Marinette Dupain-Cheng to think of him as a friend? Maybe, just maybe, something... More?





	1. The beginning

No. 

Adrien was really beginning to hate that word.

No.

Adrien had become Chat Noir, the conduit of bad luck and destruction, and was defeated by that one word.

No.

Defeated by a tall, thin man behind a desk who refused to even look at him. And all he said was:

No.

Just like that, all the freedom that Plagg promised was gone.

No. 

Adrien would not let that happen. He would get that freedom, he would find a way.  
“Father…”

“Adrien, I have told you. You will not be going to school. Apparently, you are not able to handle the workload that I have given you. I will lighten your schedule for now. Maybe that will help you get a handle on this brash behavior.” Gabriel Agreste looked up at him and waved his hand dismissively. “You may leave.”

“Father, please don’t-”

“Go.”

Adrien nodded and left, going to his room. As soon as he entered it, Plagg flew out of his jacket. “Why did you try to fight the freedom?”

Adrien gave the kwami a look. “Because he would have noticed if I didn’t try to fight it. I always fight. He wasn’t going to change his mind.”

Plagg gave him a grin. “So, what’s the plan?”

“In years past, I would always be left alone. Nathalie would teach me for a few hours, and then I was confined to the house. Nobody would bother to check up on me. There’s not much trouble that I can get into in here. So, nobody will notice if I stepped out for a little bit.”

Plagg gave him a sidelong look. “So, you can take on an akuma several times your size, and also fall off the Eiffel Tower, but you can’t say no to your father?”

Adrien laughed. “Actually, this might end up being better. He won’t bother checking up on me all the time if he thinks I am in my room.”

“What if he decides to pay your room a visit?”

Adrien slumped. “He hasn’t paid my room a spontaneous visit in years.”

Plagg nodded. “Well, then, shall we?”

Adrien nodded. “Claws out!”

This transformation was just a quick one, just enough to get him over the wall and down the street. Adrien transformed back, and started walking down the road with purpose. Plagg flew behind him.

“Where are we going?”

“To the school. I need to meet up with Chloe and tell her that I won’t be able to make it to the school this year.”

Plagg snorted. “I don’t know how you put up with her. She seems so… off-putting.”

Adrien nodded. “She has changed over the years. She has always had a… strong personality. But recently, she has changed into something different. That’s why I am going to use her as an excuse to go to the school, and get some new friends.” 

Plagg gave Adrien a look. “I didn’t know you had it in you, kid. Using one friend to make others. It’s clever.”

Adrien shoved Plagg back in his jacket as he approached the school. “Yeah, I hope so.”

Adrien soon discovered that it was not, in fact, true. Chloe saw him coming, and ran towards him, screeching his name, drawing the attention of everyone around them. Adrien took special notice of two girls standing by the stairs. He recognized them! The darker haired one was the one that yelled at him for the miscommunication with the gum! He decided to try to be friends with her first. If he could make her see what truly happened, he could make friends with anyone! Before he could start to walk towards them, the other girl grabbed her by the arm, and led her away, both of them glaring at him. 

Oh, god, this was going to be harder than he thought.

“Hey, Chlo. I actually have some bad news. Father won’t let me come to school. With all of these akuma attacks, I wouldn’t be safe, so he isn’t going to let me come. Sorry.”

Chloe looked at him, disappointment clear on her face. “Well, what’s the point of having the Agreste name if you can’t use it?”

Adrien looked at her in surprise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Chloe gave him a look that he had never been on the receiving end of. “You are an Agreste. However, you don’t use that influence on anyone. I don’t think that I could be friends with someone who doesn’t use all of their influence.”

Adriens’ eyes went wide. Chloe was ending their friendship? He nodded, and started to turn away, but Chloe grabbed his arm. “You like to do things the hard way? Here you go.” Chloe wrapped her arms around him, and yelled “OH, ADRIKINS!! I’M SO SORRY! I WILL MISS YOU!!” Chloe let go, and leaned in close. “Now try to get some friends here, Adrien.”

Adrien watched her walk away, his mind reeling. He had no idea what that meant. He turned and looked around, and saw that literally everyone was watching. Chloe had made quite the scene, drawing the attention of everyone. Adrien looked up at the second floor, and saw the blue eyes of the dark haired girl, who was watching him with narrowed eyes. That was when it dawned on Adrien what Chloe did. She just stamped her name onto his face, and apparently, that name was not a good thing around here. He would have to work to make these people like him.

Shit.

**Marinette**

Marinette stared at Adrien, her eyes narrowed. He was Chloes’ friend. Marinette couldn’t believe that she was beginning to think of him as cute. When she caught him at her desk the previous day, he did try to say something, but she didn’t want to let him talk. Also, Nino made an attempt to become friends with him, so Marinette thought that he might have a different side to him. But, Chloe just shot down all of those thoughts. 

And, hey, speak of the devil, Chloe walked up the stairs and looked at Marinette and Alya. She said nothing, but just scoffed and entered the room. Marinette watched after her, and thought that something seemed off. Maybe it was just because her “Adrikins” wasn’t able to attend school. It was definitely a plus in Marinettes’ book. An entire year of school without seeing that damn face. Good.

Alya pulled Marinette into the classroom, and sat in the desk behind Nino. They had to fend off Chloe, but that was actually pretty easy. Chloe seemed to have lost all will to sit in that seat. The class went on without incident, but that afternoon became rather interesting. There was an akuma that afternoon, and that meant that she got to meet up with Chat Noir again. 

Marinette liked Chat. Not in a romantic way, but his puns became endearing, even if they were absolutely terrible. And, hewassortacute. Not that she was going to admit that, ever, to anyone. 

Marinette disappeared in a pink flash, and Ladybug appeared on the scene. This akuma was pretty simple: a guy lost an audition for a play. In fact, he was going after Mylenes’ father! Maybe he got the part instead…

Chat landed next to her. “Well, this guy seems to be acting out. Maybe he needs to rehearse his anger management.”

Marinette face palmed. She had only seen him in action once before, and he seemed to love his puns then. Apparently, it is a part of his personality. That might get annoying after a while. Suddenly, Chat jumped forward. Marinette reached for him.

“No!!”

It was too late, he was already gone. Marinette jumped up after him, running to catch up. She needed a plan, damn it. He was going to get himself hurt!

But the akuma wasn’t looking at Chat. No, it had its’ attention on Ladybug. It thrust out its’ hand.

“GIVE ME THE EARRINGS!!”

A blue bolt of energy shot towards her, but it was blocked at the last second. Chat jumped in front of her and blocked the blue bolt. It sent him crashing into a nearby wall, knocking him unconscious. Marinette turned a dangerous glare onto the akuma. 

“That’s not happening.”

Marinette called forth her lucky charm. It was an umbrella. What the hell was she supposed to do with an umbrella against a blue bolt that knocks people unconscious? She opened it, and pointed it at the akuma. Maybe if the bolt wasn’t actually that strong?

Nope. The bolt rips right through the cloth. It also leaves behind the metal skeleton? Marinette got a sudden idea. The akuma had to fling out its’ hands in order to throw the blue bolt, so Marinette merely had to restrain them. She ran forward and used the metal strips to make a jury-rigged set of handcuffs. Now, the akuma couldn’t shoot those damn bolts. 

“NOBODY CAN RESTRAIN ENCORE!!”

“Seriously? That doesn’t even go with the theme of actor!” Marinette then just straight up punched the akuma. There was an amulet around the neck. Like, it was way too big to be called a necklace. This was straight up amulet. Marinette grabbed it and pulled it off, snapping the chain. The butterfly escaped, and Marinette opened her yo-yo. 

“Not this time.”

With a fling of the yo-yo, the akuma was captured, then purified. Marinette threw the ruined umbrella into the sky with a cry of “Miraculous Ladybug!” and everything was fixed. Marinette didn’t care too much for that, instead she just went close to where Chat was groggily getting up.

“Did we win?” Chat was sitting up slowly. “Did we get him?”

Marinette smiled, facing away from him. “No thanks to you, Kitty.”

“Awe, don’t bring me down, My Lady.”

Marinette whirled around on him. “And just what were you thinking, jumping in front of that blue bolt? My yo-yo turns into a shield, you know.”

Chat just smiled. “Well, it wasn’t a shield at that moment, now was it?”

Marinette looked down. “I suppose not.”

“And, no matter what, I will be there to defend you. It’s sorta my job.” Chat looked at her, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Anyways, it makes you care for me, and that’s the true endgame.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Well, I gotta get back. You know, since I did my job.” with that, she grappled away, leaving Chat in the dust.

**Adrien**

Adrien sat in his room, looking at a new website: the Ladyblog. It was showing pictures and videos of the two fights (well, three) between Ladybug and Chat Noir, against any of the akumas. He had been watching it for hours, watching Ladybug fight the akuma after he had been knocked unconscious. The akuma powers were so bad. He was in a forced dream state where he had to watch every single play the man had done. The dude was such a bad actor! 

Adrien also felt bad that he was not part of the fight. He took the hit because he knew that she was much more important in the process of fighting the akuma. She could purify the akuma and he could not. Did she not see that? 

Adrien pushed away from the desk, thinking about his options for the rest of the day. He had so much time to himself now. He had to remove Chloes’ influence from his life, except now she had her claws so deep in his reputation, he would need some extra help. Problem was, Adrien had no idea what to do about it. 

Adrien decided what to do. He had to show that trio that he was not part of Chloes’ social circle anymore. Not now that he knew that she only kept him around because he was famous. He would have to be more careful about who he was friends with. He didn’t want to go through that again. 

Adrien sat back in his seat, and started to think about how to get to be friends with the trio. Or, at least, make them like him better.


	2. The Wanderer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is wandering around Paris when he meets a familiar face, but he gets rudely interrupted.  
> Meanwhile, Marinette is at odds about whether or not she should give Adrien a chance to be her friend.  
> Also, something about an akuma making things difficult for the two new heroes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright!!! So, here is the next chapter of "School Time"!!!!!! I have some quick commentary about how I will treat this story. This story is my fun project, so I probably won't have an official update schedule, since I am also working on the sequel for "Game of Chat and Bug" and that will be my main project. However, I intend on seeing this story finished, so don't be too worried if you like this story, but it takes a bit between chapters.  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story, and I look forward to seeing what you think!!!!

Adrien ran his hands through his hair. How was he supposed to make friends if everyone thought he was friends with Chloe, the person who sabotaged his attempts? Adrien continued walking and thought. Adrien was wandering one of the popular places in Paris, but his mind kept distracting him. Adrien had taken the precaution of hiding his hair under a hat, and wearing off-brand clothes, bought with cash. 

Adrien was currently walking around the Eiffel Tower, looking at all the people wandering around. Adrien had seen the Eiffel Tower enough, since many of his photoshoots were centered around the massive building. No, he cared about the people. They were always fascinating to him. So, Adrien forced his thoughts out of their deliberation and focused on the people. 

Adrien could always tell who was a tourist, and who was a local. Tourists always took pictures at all angles, trying to get large masses of people in the shot. Adrien tried to avoid those pictures, since he didn’t want to get recognized through his disguise. The Locals, in contrast, were always just walking through, some only glancing up briefly. Adrien liked the place. It was always so full of a different kind of energy than anywhere else he had been. However, he had been to the Tower many times. Maybe he should try going somewhere else that was a popular tourist place. The Trocadero was right next to the Eiffel Tower, maybe he should go there. 

Adrien started across the street, and stared up at the large building. It was very large, and impressively built. Adrien had seen several works of great architecture, and the Trocadero was one of the best ones in his opinion. Adrien started to go up the steps to see the Eiffel Tower from that view. It was a sight he had never seen, and he had heard that it was a sight to see. Adrien made it to the top and stared out. He turned to go up the next set of stairs, and froze. The girl with the dark-haired pigtails was sitting right there, drawing in a sketchbook. She was hunched over, apparently in an intense bout of concentration, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, her mouth set in a line. Adrien thought about if he should approach and interrupt or not. This was possibly the one and only time he could approach a member of the group of friends away from the school. But, she was so immensely concentrated. It would be extremely rude of him to interrupt her, and possibly ruin the flow of thoughts. 

Adriens decision was made for him when he felt his phone suddenly shock him from his pocket. He also heard the distinctive pops of frying electronics from everyone else nearby, including the girl, who gave out a small shriek and fell back. Adrien looked around and saw a strangely dressed woman at the top of the stairs. Of course. Just when he was beginning to enjoy his day. The akuma was dressed in an outfit similar to the ones worn in “Tron”, except that she had on a headlamp, which was used to short out electronics, it seemed. She laughed evilly, exclaiming “I am Technomonger!! And the age of technology is at an end!!”

Adrien immediately jumped into action. He looked down, and saw that the girl was already gone. Adrien felt a small pang of… something, but he wrote it off and ran to a nearby door, trying to find somewhere easy to transform. He still wasn’t too used to the whole ‘find a secretive area to transform’ thing. 

Plagg came out of his shirt with a big grin on his face. “Missed your chance to talk to the lady, did you?”

Adrien shot him a quick glare. “No time. Claws out!” Plagg was sucked laughing into the ring, transforming Adrien into Chat Noir. 

Adrien ran to a window and jumped out, giving the illusion that Chat Noir was not at the Trocadero to begin with. He landed where he had last seen the akuma, and saw that she had moved on already. He heard a zipping sound, and Ladybug landed next to him.

“Have you seen it?” Ladybug raised an eyebrow. “I was pretty close, but I didn’t see where it went.”

“Same here.”

Ladybug looked over. “You were at the Trocadero?”

Adrien glanced over at her perplexed look. “Come on, My Lady. We all have lives to live. Are you saying you were here too?”

Ladybug straightened. “Let’s go find this akuma!” throwing her yo-yo, she jumped away. Chuckling, Adrien followed.

The akuma didn’t prove to be too much harder to find than Adrien had thought. The akuma was taking out any and all technology around it, leaving a trail of cars that crashed in the absence of traffic lights. Ladybug suggested that they split up, so Adrien took to the left of the trail, while Ladybug took to the right side. 

Adrien followed the line until he started hearing the electronic pops, and found the akuma standing in the middle of the street, shining her headlamp at various objects. Adrien pulled out his baton and called Ladybug. She answered quickly, and Adrien explained the situation. “She is just standing there, shining her-” 

Adrien suddenly felt his baton shock his hand, just like his phone had done to his leg. The screen went black, and the slider slid shut without a seam. “Shit.” Adrien looked down and saw that Technomonger had spotted him, but still wasn’t moving to catch him. Adrien extended his baton and jumped down, helicoptering his baton over him to slow his fall.

Only, it didn’t slow him at all. Only some quick reflexes and a well-timed roll saved him from being severely hurt from the fall. Adrien looked at his baton, and saw that it was still small. He tried extending it, but nothing happened. That was when it hit Adrien. His baton was useless. It was fried. Now, he had a nice little metal stick. Yay.

Adrien ducked down behind a car, trying to figure out what to do. He could just throw his baton, but that was a one and done thing. He could try to cataclysm something, but he wanted to wait for Ladybug to do that. She would have a plan. Problem was, Adrien had seen the background of Ladybugs’ call, and she was nowhere near where he was. She would take several minutes to get there.

Adrien was about to stand up, when there was a call from the rooftop. 

“TECHNOMONGER!!”

Looking up, Adrien was surprised to see Ladybug standing on top of the roof. She held up her yo-yo, ready to throw it, but it Technomonger aimed her headlamp at it, frying it in Ladybugs’ hand. Ladybug jumped at the shock, but did not back down. Adrien did a mental facepalm. He was still thinking in terms of driving places. Ladybug could just go OVER the buildings in her way.

“The thing about yo-yo’s is that they don’t use technology. Just a string. Mine uses a little bit of magic, but that’s still not technology.”

Ladybug swung down, ready to kick the akuma, but Adrien had a frame of reference that Ladybug did not. From his position, he could see that the akuma was holding a streetlight behind her back, ready to swing at the approaching Ladybug. 

Adrien launched himself forward, tackling Ladybug in midair, throwing her aim off, and also forcing the akuma to miss the initial swing.

“Chat!!” Ladybug looked at him in shock, but it quickly turned to anger. “Why did you do that?”

“She has a streetlight, she would have swatted you out of the sky!” Adrien pulled her to her feet, keeping an eye on the approaching akuma. “Goodness, she walks like a corny horror movie villain.”

Ladybug smirked, stepping forward. “So, the akuma is in the headlamp?”

“Yeah. Although, you being here might shed some light on things, My Lady.”

Ladybug turned back around, looking incredulous. “Seriously? Are you joking in the middle of an akuma fight?”

Adrien merely grinned, pulling out his baton. By instinct, he tried to extend it, but it didn’t work. He looked at Ladybug and shrugged. “That’s why my baton cut out. I got hit.”

Ladybug nodded, and turned back around. “It’s time to end this. Lucky Charm!!” Casting her yo-yo into the air, Ladybug summoned her special object. What landed in her hand nearly made Adrien burst out laughing. It was a buckle! Just like the one on his belt-tail-thing!!!

Ladybug looked around for a few minutes, and then jumped into action. She grabbed some rope from an overturned cargo truck, and tied it into a loop, with one end attached to the buckle. Then, she jumped forward, avoiding the streetlamp narrowly, and tied the akumas’ arms to her sides. 

Adrien saw that the akuma was still going to try swinging the streetlamp again, using just her wrists, so he threw his baton, knocking it out of her hand. Ladybug grabbed the headlamp off of the akuma, slamming it down onto the ground. The black butterfly was released and purifyed by Ladybug by the time Adrien had picked up his baton. With her cry of “Miraculous Ladybug!”, a burst of ladybugs flew around, fixing the damage. Adrien extended his baton to the ground, launching himself upwards a little bit to test it. 

After making sure the victim was OK, Adrien and Ladybug went to the side of the street before leaving. Adrien tried to say bye to Ladybug, but she merely grunted and jumped away, leaving Adrien wondering what was up.

Adrien launched up, heading back home. His father might check in on him (or rather, send Nathalie to check on him) after the akuma attack, so he figured it would be better if he was actually there. Adrien landed in his room and transformed back mere seconds before the door opened, and Nathalie stuck her head in. Adrien smiled at her, and Nathalie merely nodded and closed the door.

Slumping down onto his couch, Adrien sighed and opened his jacket for Plagg to come out. “What do you think was up with Ladybug today?”

Plagg shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she didn’t get the right type of cheese for lunch!”

Adrien scoffed. “Not everything is about cheese, Plagg. Maybe I should introduce you to some other foods.”

“NO!! You will not feed me anything other than cheese. Camembert would work best for all of us.”

Adrien ran a hand down his face. This was going to be rather interesting.

**Marinette**

Marinette sat back in her desk chair, throwing her pencil down in frustration. She was supposed to be doing some history homework, but her mind was just spinning out of control. Her thoughts kept returning to Chat Noir, and the fact that he seemed to really enjoy saving her at his own deficit. 

Marinette stood and started pacing, trying to get her thoughts back in order. Tikki zipped up, a curious expression on her face. 

“Marinette? Why aren’t you doing your homework?”

Marinette placed her face in her hands. “I can’t stop thinking about Chat Noir, and how he keeps getting himself in danger for me.”

Tikki giggled “Sounds like you care about him.”

“I don’t even know him, at all!!” Marinette flung her hands up in the air.

“You don’t always know the people you care about to begin with.”

“But… Chat Noir!! He has a terrible sense of humor, and… and...” Marinette tried coming up with something, but her mind was too turbulent. “And that’s not all!! I saw Adrien today, right before the akuma. He was just wandering around the Trocadero, and he saw me! I tried to ignore him, and not let him know that I saw him, but he just stayed there, watching me until the akuma attacked!! What was with that?”

Tikki put on a thoughtful face. “Maybe you should give him a chance. Talk to him, maybe?”

Marinette glanced back. “No. He is a friend of Chloe, and so he will not he a friend of mine.”

Tikki zoomed in front of Marinette. “That is not a good way to judge character. Maybe Adrien is a super nice person, who puts up with Chloe because he thinks that she could be better?”

Marinette thought about it, and looked down. “You’re right. Maybe we should give him a chance.”

Tikki spun in circles, spiraling up. “Maybe you should go out for a quick walk! That might help you clear your head!”

Marinette smiled. “I’ll get some extra cookies for you when we get back.”

Tikki giggled. “Let’s go, then!”

Summoning her transformation, Marinette jumped out into the Parisian night. She swung around, heading for the Trocadero. She loved using that place for inspiration. In fact, that day, she was on the verge of one of her best designs, before Adrien appeared. 

To her surprise, the Trocadero already had a superhero resident. Chat Noir was sitting exactly where she usually sat, looking at the Eiffel Tower. He sat with his chin in his hands, staring at the Tower wistfully. Marinette landed next to him, startling him out of his reverie. 

“Ladybug!! What are you doing here?” 

Marinette sat next to him. “I’ve had a sorta interesting day, and I like coming here.”

Chat slumped down again. “Same here. I guess. You want to talk about it?”

Marinette took a deep breath. “I just saw someone that I am not on good terms with, and some other things are happening. I just needed a quick break to take a breather.”

Chat nodded. “I’m in a similar boat. There’s someone that I want to get to know better, but she keeps trying to elude me. I saw her here earlier, so I decided to come here. You know, get to know the person by the places they visit? Is that a thing?”

Marinette giggled. “I think that it could be.”

Chat smiled. “I hope so. I don’t really have any… friends. Well, I have one, sort of, but I think that one was ended very effectively. I just want to meet at least one more person who I can do all the cliché friend stuff with, you know?”

Marinette placed a compassionate hand on his shoulder. “I hope it works out for you, Chat.”

Chat looked back at her. “I have a question. What if we became friends? It’s something I have been thinking about for a little bit. Think about it, two people, heroes of Paris, also meet up in civilian form.”

Marinette hung her head. “My kwami was pretty clear about the rules. Nobody can know our true identities. Nobody means, well, nobody. We can be friends with the masks, though.”

Chat looked a little bit put off. “It won’t be the same.”

Marinette nearly glared back. “Well then we can just be coworkers.” 

She started to stand up, but Chat caught her hand. “I didn’t finish. It won’t be the same, but we can certainly make it work.”

Marinette suddenly felt bad about snapping. “I’m sorry. I guess that I am just a little bit too wound up right now.”

Chat smiled back warmly. “Let’s go somewhere else, where we can relax without the risk of people finding us. Race you to the top of the Eiffel Tower?”

Marinette grinned. “You’re on.”

Chat bounded forward, followed closely by Marinette. Chat used his baton to propel himself up the tower in one leap, while Marinette had to follow with her yo-yo, which was slower than the baton. She lost to Chat by a mere two seconds, but she lost all the same.

“I guess that I will have to practice using this, so I can get faster than you.”

Chat stood triumphantly. “I guess so. Right here is good.”

He gestured to the ground, and Marinette looked after his gesture. “What?” Chat gestured again, and Marinette looked even closer, but still didn’t find anything. “What?”

Chat rolled his eyes and lunged forward, grabbing her arm. Before Marinette could react, chat swept her feet out from under her and gently lay her on the ground. “Lay down. Relax. You know the thing? Where you just stop and unwind? This tower is above most of the light pollution. We can see the stars much better from here.”

Marinette felt her face flush with embarrassment as she stared up at the stars. “I suppose that was pretty obvious, wasn’t it?”

Now that they weren’t doing anything, or talking about anything, Marinette was finding it harder to not think about Chat as he lay beside her. Marinette felt like she was going crazy, but her mind would not stop thinking about Chat. Then, unbidden, an image of Adrien bled into her mind. She saw his face as he watched her on the Trocadero, and her imagination kept making it seem like his face was one of longing, like he wanted to talk to her. But, she figured that it was just her mind inputting what Chat had told her into her mental image of Adrien.

Soon enough, it was time for them both to go back home. Marinette made her way to the balcony to her room, and dropped in, making a little bit more noise than she intended. She waited to see if her parents would notice, but nothing came up to check on her. 

Figuring that her parents were asleep, Marinette sneaked down to grab some extra cookies for Tikki. Once she returned, she managed to fight her way through her history homework just in time to get a good nights’ sleep.

**Adrien**

Meanwhile, Adrien was having a difficult time going to sleep. His mind kept wandering around from place to place. From losing his only friend, to having Marinette ignore him despite his best efforts, to becoming better friends with Ladybug. He lay awake for a few hours before forcing himself to go to sleep. He had a photoshoot the next morning, he had to be well-rested for it. It would not do to have him be tired for the shoot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting interesting for these two heroes. 
> 
> Keep in mind, this is only their second ever akuma. They don't really know each other very well. However, as should be obvious, they do become good friends quickly. Now, if only Adrien and Marinette could do that...


	3. Problems With a Sketchbook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien runs into Marinette, and Ladybug seems to be distracted. Of course, there is also an obligatory akuma, don't worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can't tell, I won't really have an update schedule for this, but I will try to get these out at least sorta regularly. Hope you enjoy!!!!

Adrien woke up the next morning to Nathalie knocking on his door. “Adrien, you have a visitor. Please get ready quickly and go to the foyer.”

Adrien did so, and made his way out. He had barely made it to the hallway when he was tackled by a yellow blur. Adrien managed to get out of the bone-crushing hug enough to see the distinctive ponytail belonging to Chloe. 

“Adrien, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to ruin you like that! I was just upset!” Chloe looked up at him. “You weren’t going to school, and I just… I don’t know why I did that!”

Adrien grabbed her upper arms. “Come on into my room. We can talk there.” Glancing up at Nathalie, Adrien gestured with his head. Nathalie nodded, and Adrien directed the distressed blond into his room. “OK. So, what?”

Chloe sniffled, and looked up at him. “Here’s the full story. There is someone in my class, and I think I might like them. But, they are someone that I can’t like! I’m the daughter of the mayor, I can’t just start liking someone of… lesser stature, right? So, I was going to try to use you as a distraction. You are I are good friends, I figured that if I acted like I like you, my feelings for the other person might go away. This isn’t saying that I don’t like you, but...”

Adrien grabbed her shoulders. “It’s fine, Chloe. I understand.”

Chloe nodded. “I guess that when I heard that you weren’t going to be going to school, I panicked and did some things I shouldn’t have. You deserve friends. I shouldn’t have done that. My name at that school is not the best, and I suppose that I deserve that. But, you don’t.”

Adrien stared back at her. Never, in all the years they had been friends, had Chloe ever apologized like this. Adrien wondered if he was the only person to have seen her like this. Adrien knew that her father was rather manipulative, but he didn’t think that it might have affected Chloe this much. 

Chloe stood grabbing her things. “I have to go to school, now. Thank you for listening. And… for understanding.”

With a parting smile, Chloe left. Adrien tried to escort her to the door, but Nathalie intercepted him halfway to the foyer, telling him to get ready for the photoshoot. Adrien sighed, and walked back to his room, getting into some clothes that he could change out of quickly. 

Several hours later, Adrien finally made it out of the shoot. It was probably one of the most boring shoots he had ever done in his life. It was for a jacket line coming out in late fall, so Adrien didn’t even need his face in the shots. Just do a pose against various faux walls, and go to the next jacket. 

Adrien made it into his room with some assignments given to him by Nathalie as the “schooling” for the day. Apparently, it was more important for Adrien to learn how to find out the information by himself, as opposed to learning the information accurately. Just to spite Nathalie, Adrien wrote in answers that were extremely incorrect, but had descriptions explaining why they would be right if one piece of information was changed. It wasn't as if she really checked the answers anyways. Adrien normally did the assignments correctly, but he was feeling rebellious today.

After Adrien finished and gave Nathalie the papers, he went back to his room, changed into his street clothes, and transformed into Chat Noir. Adrien jumped out of the window, and vaulted into the next street. Hiding in an alley, he transformed back and started down the road, heading over to another popular place he had heard of. 

Adrien was walking down a sidewalk, looking up at a bakery he was passing, when something slammed into his stomach. Adrien stumbled back, and managed to catch himself on the wall, but the thing that ran into him was not so fortunate. Adrien tried to catch it, but it slipped out of his reach. 

Adrien leaned down to pick up the person who ran into him, and they looked up at him. Adrien felt his heart suddenly speed up to high speeds, and he froze. The girl with the dark hair in the pigtails stared back up at him. Adrien still had yet to learn her name, but he really wanted to. 

The girl suddenly jumped up and stepped forward, frantically straightening his jacket. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!! Are you Ok? Are you hurt? I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there! Not that it’s your fault, of course, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Again, I’m sorry! Oh, I have something important to take care of, I have to go, but I am sorry!!”

With that, the girl turned and ran away, back the way she had come. Adrien stared after her, still going over the events. He had learned two things about her today. One, she swears. Two, she was terrified of him for some reason.

Adrien looked down and saw a sketchbook laying on the street, next to a puddle. A car was coming down the road, directly lined up to hit the puddle and drench it, so Adrien darted forward and grabbed it before that happened. Adrien started to run forward and give the book back, but movement caught his eye. 

Ladybug was swinging by, going purposefully towards the Eiffel Tower, but there was no akuma. What was she doing out? She was heading to the Eiffel Tower, or more probably, the Trocadero, which is where she said she went when she needed to clear her mind. 

Adrien was torn. Should he pursue Marinette as Adrien, and try to make friends, or should he follow after Ladybug and find out what is going on? Adrien stayed on the street for a little bit, but soon made up his mind. He tucked the sketchbook into his hoodie pocket, and darted into an alley, pulling on the collar of the hoodie to release Plagg.

“Wow, that girl knows how to hit someone! It almost hurt me, and I'm a god!”

Adrien held up a piece of Camembert. “Yeah, it was quite the hit. I think that Ladybug needs someone to talk to, so would you mind transforming?”

Plagg nodded, taking the cheese and downing it in one bite. Adrien summoned his transformation, and bounded to the Trocadero. It was now daytime, so he went to the roofs instead of the stairs, and found Ladybug sitting in a niche hidden to the ground. Adrien landed on the roof, making more noise than he normally would, so he didn’t startle Ladybug. 

“Hey, Ladybug! What’s up?”

Ladybug looked back, and Adrien was startled to see that she seemed shaken. “Hey, Chat. I’m fine, just ran into that person I mentioned earlier. Actually, I may have almost knocked him over. And, I’m a little bit concerned that he will tell his friend, who really enjoys making my life a living hell.”

Adrien ran his hand back through his hair. Now, he knew two people who seemed rather innocent who swore. Neat. “Well, I’m sure that you can handle whatever they decided to throw your way.”

Ladybug smiled. “Well, it sure will be interesting.”

Adrien sat down next to her. They sat there for a few minutes, until Ladybug suddenly shot up. “Shit!! I left something back where I ran into the guy!” 

Before Adrien could say something, Ladybug ran to the edge of the roof and jumped off. Adrien peered over the edge of the roof and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there was nobody down on the ground who would have heard the hero of Paris yell ‘shit’. 

Adrien decided that it may be time to continue to the place he was already going for. He jumped down to the ground and went over to a hidden corner to transform back. Stepping out, Adrien walked calmly down the steps. He pulled out his phone to get an update on the route he should take, and he started off. Several minutes later, Adrien arrived at the Louvre. 

Adrien marveled at the paintings, looking wide-eyed at the stuff. This was nothing like the art he had up in the manor. This was bright and colorful, rather than the boring stuff he had in his home. Adrien wandered around, looking at everything. At one point, he put his hands in his pocket, and felt the book in the hoodie. He pulled it out and looked it over. It wasn’t super extravagant, but it had a certain charm to it. Adrien nearly opened it, but he remembered when he had seen the girl at the Trocadero. She was drawing in this book!! This must be precious to her!! Adrien almost tripped over his own feet as he whirled around to go back to the bakery he had seen the girl. He glanced back down to the book, and saw that there was a signature gleaming in the late afternoon sun, hand embroidered into the cover: Marinette.

**Marinette**

Marinette dashed back to where she had run into Adrien as fast as she could. Adrien was already gone, but Marinette wasn’t looking for him. She frantically searched around the sidewalk and street, but she didn’t find anything. She looked around, and found that there was a puddle in the road, and in her experience, a puddle in the street meant that nearby was a storm drain. Sure enough, there was a hole in the curb, plenty big enough for her sketchbook. 

Marinette sunk to her knees, staring down into the hole. There was no light, she could not see what lay at the bottom. Tikki came out of her purse, and flew down into the hole without saying anything. She knew what that book meant to Marinette. After a few minutes, Tikki slowly floated back up, shaking her head. Marinette nodded and stood, allowing Tikki to enter the purse again before Marinette went into the bakery. 

“Oh, hello, Marinette! Were you busy after school today?” Her mother, Sabine, was behind the counter, and her father, Tom, was behind Sabine, working at frosting some cupcakes. Marinette nodded. Sabine seemed to notice that something was off, because she walked around the counter and raised Marinettes’ chin to look in her eyes. “What’s wrong, dear?”

Marinette felt the tears approach her eyes, but she refused to cry in front of the customers. “I lost my sketchbook. I was working on a new design, but it is now gone, with all the other ones in the book.”

Sabine pulled Marinette in for a hug, and Marinette hugged back tightly. After a few seconds, Marinette pushed off. “You have to worry about the customers, Maman.” Sabine nodded and Marinette made her way upstairs. She started to transcribe her notes from school that day, and worked dejectedly on her homework. She opened her window to get a fresh breeze running through her room, and nearly went to her sewing station, but then she remembered that her book was gone, and she had no designs to work on. 

Marinette flumped down onto her lounge, closing her eyes. The late afternoon sun shone down onto her body, making her feel warm. But, it did not make her feel any better. So, to recap her day, she had to deal with Chloe ranting on and on about how much she missed Adrien, and how she wanted him to make it to school eventually. Then, Marinette decided to just get home as soon as she could, so she ran. As she turned the corner, she ran into Adrien, who would probably report back to Chloe, and Chloe would then tease her and treat her even worse, since her precious Adrien was hit. After that, she had a nice talk with Chat, but then, her notebook was lost. 

Marinette calmed her thoughts, using a technique Tikki taught her, and nearly came to an understanding. However, Marinettes’ thoughts were interrupted by a scuffing noise coming from the sidewalk, followed by heavy huffing breaths. It remained for a while, and Marinette eventually became curious enough to look at what was making the noise.

Down on the street below was someone in a hoodie, looking up and down the road. The hoodie looked familiar, but Marinette couldn’t place where she had seen it before. Suddenly, it came to her. That was the same hoodie that Adrien was wearing when she had collided with him!

Marinette scrambled up to her balcony and leaned over, just in time to see Adrien walking away in defeat. Marinette watched him walk away, and something in his hand caught her attention. He was holding something rectangular in his hand, roughly the same size as… her sketchbook!! He was holding her sketchbook in his hand!!

Marinette was about to run down to the street, when her mother called that it was time for dinner. As Marinette was about to call for Adrien to stop, his shoulders slumped and he dashed away, obviously out of time to search for her. Marinette would have to wait for the third chance encounter in the next day.

**Adrien**

Adrien was having a major panic attack in his mind. He was way late getting home, and he still had the sketchbook in his pocket. He transformed and jumped haphazardly into his room, barely managing to transform back and throw off his hoodie before Nathalie poked her head in to call him to dinner. Adrien quickly changed into clothes that he would not get in trouble for wearing and went to the diner. 

Adrien figured that it was a Thursday, so there was a 15% chance that his father would be in the dining room with him. It turns out, today was part of the other 85%. Adrien ate his dinner in complete isolation, and he eventually made his way back to his room. 

Adrien sat in his room, looking at the sketchbook. He wondered if he would be able to find Marinette tomorrow. He certainly hoped so. This could possibly be the perfect thing to let Adrien talk with Marinette. At the very least, he could return the book. Adrien was highly tempted to look through the book, but he resisted the urge, not wanting to invade her privacy. Adrien still remembered when he had looked through his fathers’ sketchbook. His father caught him, and sent Adrien to his room, without so much as a word. Just snapped the book shut and pointed at Adriens’ room. It was probably one of the most terrifying things his father had ever done.

Adrien looked up, determined to get the book back the next day, even if it required some minor stalking as Chat Noir to find her. Adrien was just starting to get ready for bed when there was a buzzing going off in the room.

Adrien pulled out his phone, and saw that there was an alert sent out. It was actually just an amber alert sent out, so everyone got the alert. However, instead of the name of the missing person, all it said was “akuma” and the picture was a location marker, like in google maps. Adrien dearly hoped that it wasn't Marinette, about losing her sketchbook. Adrien had seen what happened when his father lost his own sketchbook. That was the second most terrifying thing Adrien had seen his father do. 

Adrien poked Plagg, and summoned the transformation with just a quick “Akuma” as an explanation. Adrien jumped out of his window, going to the place that he had seen on his phone. He looked at the location, and saw that Ladybug was already on scene. However, something seemed… off. She did not fight with the same amount of rigor, or with the same amount of tact that she usually did. 

Adrien landed and took stock of the situation. This akuma was a teenager, who made everyone look goth. The akuma was in his drawstrings, obviously, since they were a pright purplish-pink, and stood out from the rest of his outfit. Ladybug rushed forward to make another attack, and Adrien grabbed her by the waist, stopping her before she got hit by one of the goth beams.

“Let’s think about this, before we just charge in, My Lady.” 

Ladybug stopped and slumped down. “Sorry. I’m just a little bit distracted today.”

Adrien nodded. “I understand. Let’s get this over with.”

A voice came from around the car they were crouched behind. “I think that I can make that happen. All I need is your miraculous.”

Adrien jumped up, instinctively swiping with his claws. They caught on the hoodie, ripping out the drawstring. Adrien quickly did cataclysm on it, destroying it and releasing the akuma. Ladybug leaped into action, capturing and releasing the akuma quickly. She cast her yo-yo into the sky, summoning the army of ladybugs to fix the city. 

Ladybug turned around, and started laughing. Adrien had no idea what she was laughing about. Ladybug took one look at his face and started laughing some more. She started trying to talk, but her laughing kept interrupting. “You… you defeated the akuma…. By slashing with your claws… by accident!! You just swiped…. Because he scared you! He scared you!! You were scared!!”

Adrien felt his face flush as Ladybug kept laughing at his expense. She eventually regained her composure, straightening back up. “I’m sorry. It was just funny to see you slash at the akuma when it scared us.”

Adrien nodded. Ladybug then slumped down. “This is a great conclusion to a wonderful day.”

Adrien looked up. “Is this because of what you left? You mentioned it before you left the Trocadero.”

Ladybug nodded “I should get back home.” 

“Same here. Good job, though.” By instinct, Adrien held up his fist, and Ladybug reached forward and pounded it. 

“Good job.”

Adrien jumped up, using his baton to vault over close to his house, and jumped into his room. He transformed back and jumped into his bed. As soon as he covered himself with blankets, his door opened softly as Nathalie checked on him as she said she would after every akuma.

Adrien sat up when the door closed again and started thinking strategy. He needed to get the book back to Marinette. But how would he do it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, how is Adrien going to solve this little conundrum? With style, of course.


	4. Black Cats and Mean Dudes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien tries to find a way to return Marinettes' sketchbook to her. Meanwhile, Marinette seems to be having troubles with some of the local boys. Perhaps a certain person could help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, another chapter here. I am sorry that I am so late, but I wanted to get farther on some of my other projects, so I didn't post this. Sorry...

Adrien walked carefully, with his hoodie drawn close to his face. He was close to the school, where he was likely to get seen and recognized. He also didn’t want Chloe to get involved. She would latch onto him, making it impossible to give anything to Marinette. 

A loud bell cut through the air, and Adrien saw people start leaving the school. Adrien waited until he saw Chloe get into her limo, and leave. Then, Adrien started searching for Marinette and her friends. After a few minutes went by, Adrien saw Marinette come out of the school, followed by her other two friends. Adrien started walking forward, but the girl with glasses saw him. She grabbed Marinette by the arm and started pulling her in the opposite direction, giving Adrien a small glare before they turned the corner. 

Adrien sighed, and started to follow. However, he thought better of it quickly, since it would give him a stalker vibe. So, he went to the Trocadero. That was the only other place where he could think of where she might be reliably. The bakery might have been a fluke, so this was the best location. Adrien sat on the steps, tapping his fingers on the book, thinking.

*.*.*

Marinette was not happy. She found out that Alya and Nino had pulled her away from Adrien, and she nearly yelled at them. She told them as politely as possible that Adrien had her sketchbook, so she had to talk to him, no matter the outcome of the conversation. With that, Marinette just stomped out. 

The first place Marinette went to was the bakery, since that was the only place she could think of that was related to both the book and Adrien. She ran there, and turned the corner to see… nothing. Adrien wasn’t there. Just to check, Marinette looked inside, but there was no distinctive blond hair sticking out to her.

Marinette slumped against the wall, thinking hard. Where else had she seen Adrien? The only other place where Adrien had seen just her was- oh. The Trocadero! When Adrien had arrived to see Marinette sitting on the steps, sketching in her book!! 

Marinette took off running again, ignoring the stitch in her side. She felt Tikki run her purse into her leg harder than necessary, trying to tell her to take it easy, but Marinette ignored it. She needed to get to the Trocadero!

Turning a corner, Marinette dashed to the lower steps, taking them two at a time, arriving at the top quickly. Marinette leaned forward, placing her hands on her knees. She looked up to see Adrien sitting on the steps, staring forward, his eyebrows furrowed. Marinette waved her arm around, catching his attention. However, she may have done it a little bit too excitedly, and she toppled, off balance, and started falling towards the stairs. Marinette thought about what it would be like to fall down those steps. It was very steep, and there were a lot of stairs. Tikki might have to find a new Ladybug.

Marinette then heard a scuffing noise, and something latched onto her wrist, stopping her in her fall. She looked up, and saw that her savior was none other than Adrien, who had somehow managed to cross the considerable distance from the upper steps to the lower steps to catch her.

Marinette stared with wide eyes, unable to talk. Adrien gave a small smile and pulled her upright. “Are you OK?”

Marinette found her words enough to say “Y-yeah. I think so. Nothing broken.”

Adriens’ smile widened. “That’s good! It would be a shame if you fell before I could return this!”

Marinette looked down and saw that Adrien was offering her the sketchbook. She grabbed it quickly, nearly yelling “My notebook!!”

She looked at it, looking for any distinctive marks on it. Adrien raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Marinette looked up at him. “Any critiques on the designs?”

Adrien put his hand behind his head, looking away. “I didn’t actually look in it. I figured that it would be a breach of personal space, you know?”

Marinette peered from the side of her eye. “You didn’t look?” She found it difficult to believe. Any friend of Chloe would have taken that chance to look at the designs and have a good laugh with Chloe. Marinette supposed that if Adrien had actually looked and taken pictures, Marinette could do nothing to stop it. 

Adrien looked down. “You still don’t believe me, do you?”

Marinette shrugged her shoulders. “Chloe isn’t exactly the nicest person to me.”

Adrien nodded. “She can get like that sometimes.”

Marinette looked up with a hard gaze. “Sometimes? She has been a total bitch since fourth grade!”

Adrien nodded. “That is about when she started trying to be someone she isn’t. It has just escalated from there.”

Marinette folded her arms. “I wouldn’t be so suspicious, but she really likes singling me out. It’s like I did something to really piss her off, and she never got over it.”

Adrien thought back on it, and realized something. Marinette must be the ‘stupid clumsy girl who was a total pest’!! Adrien sighed. “I suppose that the reason Chloe is better with me is because I have known her all my life. And hers.”

Marinette nodded. “She has always bragged about knowing some rich boy who was totally going to marry her someday.”

Adrien literally choked on air. Marinette had never seen that before. “W-What?? Marry her?” he managed to splutter out.

Marinette giggled. “I guess that it is not the case?”

Adrien shook his head. “I’m friends with her, but I would prefer to have other friends, you know?”

“I guess so. Well, the school won’t be laying down vows of friendship at your feet, that’s for sure. Chloe saw to that.”

“She actually apologized to me for that.”

Marinette felt her eyes go wide. “She did? Wow, she must really like you. She doesn’t even apologize to the teacher.” Adrien laughed, and Marinette found that she liked the sound. “Well, I really should get going.”

With that, Marinette started going down the steps, passing by group of people on the way down the stairs.

**Adrien**

Adrien watched Marinette leave, and nearly turned to go back to his own house. However, there was something nagging at the back of his mind. Adrien turned back and went to the railing. He saw Marinette walking away, leafing through her book. And, trailing behind her, was a group of people, all walking in a way that they would not be seen by who they were following, hiding behind objects when she glanced behind. Adrien knew exactly what this would mean.

Adrien ran to the spot at the Trocadero where he had transformed during Technomonger, transformed into Chat Noir with Plagg kicking and screaming (quietly), and jumped after Marinette. He had last seen her going to the right of the Trocadero…

There! Marinette was walking fast, looking back over her shoulder as subtly as possible. She also tapped her purse, whether out of frustration or nervousness, Adrien couldn’t tell. Marinette took a hard turn down an alley, but one of the thugs dashed after her. Adrien jumped forward, landing next to Marinette, startling her. Adrien was surprised to see that Marinette was looking into her purse. Maybe she had a taser in there?

Adrien ran out of time to think about it when the thug turned the corner and stopped when he saw Chat Noir standing there. The thug pulled out a knife and stepped forward, a grin on his face. “Let’s see if Paris’ hero is truly unbeatable.”

The other thugs hit the corner and stopped. One of them called out “Hey, man!! Let’s go!!”

The thug stepping forward looked over his shoulder. “Imagine how famous we will get for defeating Chat Noir!”

Adrien didn’t give him the chance to say anything else. He rolled his eyes and ran forward, grabbing the hand with the knife. The thug tried getting out of it, but Chat lifted him up and pulled him close. “You think that just because you are not some sort of super-villain that I will turn a blind eye? You were wrong.”

The thug finally stopped struggling, slumping in defeat. Adrien looked at the others who were still standing on the end of the alley. “You are lucky Ladybug isn’t here. She wouldn’t let you go. I will give you this one chance. Leave.”

Adrien turned and saw Marinette stifling a laugh behind her hand, but when she saw him looking, she snapped her hand down, but she was still smiling. Adrien called the police on his baton, and when he heard the sirens approaching, he set the thug down next to the wall. Walking over to Marinette, he gave her his best smile. “Well, now that I have wasted enough of your time, would you like a ride home?”

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “I can make my own way home, but thanks!!”

“It would be remiss of me to ignore the last step of saving a charming girl such as yourself.” Adrien took a bow, holding his hand out to her. Marinette rolled her eyes, but took his hand with a smile. Adrien pulled her near him, placing his hand around her waist. She lifted his hand off, and wrapped her arm around his neck instead. Adrien extended his baton until they were on top of the rooftops, and adjusted her until she was on his back. “Is there a specific place you would like me to take you?”

“Home, preferably.”

Adrien chuckled. “Well, I don’t actually know where everyone in Paris lives.”

Adrien felt Marinette thunk her head against his back. “I live at a bakery over there.” Marinette pointed off to his left.

Adrien jumped from roof to roof, making sure that Marinette was secure after every landing. Eventually, Adrien found himself standing at a familiar bakery. Marinette hopped off, thanking him. Adrien swooped down in another bow, giving some form of flattering goodbye. Adrien couldn’t think past the point that he had run into Marinette right outside her house, which happened to be a bakery. Perhaps Adrien should have returned here after all...

Adrien stood outside the bakery, watching to make sure that Marinette made it in OK. Marinette looked over again and pointed upwards. Adrien looked up, and saw that there was a balcony at the top of the building. Adrien bounded up to the top, and saw that the top was set up to be a lounging area. Adrien sat on one of the chairs, and waited for a few minutes, until the skylight on the floor clinked and opened, letting Marinette through. 

“I just wanted to say thank you. I figured that up here was a better area to do so, rather than down on the street in the middle of the afternoon.” Marinette held up a black scarf. “I was making this, and thought that it would be a good gift for someone who saved me.”

Adrien took the scarf in his hands, and admired the craftsmanship. “Wait, you said that you were making this?”

Marinette nodded. “I was thinking of using it for a birthday or something, but I don’t really have someone who would like this.”

Adrien wrapped the scarf around his neck. “Well, you are in luck! It’s actually my birthday in a few days!!”

Marinette gave him a grin. “I have magic birthday-detecting powers, you know. You and Ladybug aren’t the only superheroes in the city.”

Adrien laughed, and stepped backwards. “Well, it is about time for me to take my leave. Before I leave, may I get a name?”

Marinette giggled. “Marinette.”

Adrien smiled. “I would give you mine, but my mask is here for a reason. It was nice to meet you, Marinette! Maybe I’ll stop by again.”

With that, Adrien jumped back to his house. He transformed back and set the scarf on his desk. He was actually extremely happy! He had talked to Marinette as Adrien, and then got to know her better as Chat Noir! As it turned out, Marinette was actually a very nice person who he now wanted to get to know much better!

Adrien felt the scarf again, and marveled at the quality. Marinette was exceptionally skilled at making scarves. And Adrien doubted that her skills were limited to just scarves. Adrien jumped onto his couch and turned on some TV, but he wasn’t watching. Instead, he was thinking about how he should proceed with making more friends, specifically with Marinette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, thugs. I'm original like that. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!! More to come sometime soon.
> 
> EDIT FROM MARCH 20TH: I'm so sorry I haven't updated!!! I will update soon, but I have an idea for a scene that I can't quite seem to get right. I will get something out for you peeps soon, though!!!!


	5. Adrien Agreste and friends... sorta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien tries to find a time to return a certain item of Marinettes'. Meanwhile, Alya and Nino are suspicious of who Marinette keeps talking to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back!!!! My muses decided to go on strike, so I didn't have the necessary abilities to write more. But they have come back to their jobs, so I should be able to keep writing!!!!!! And look, I even got a new chapter out!!!!!

Adrien flipped onto a roof, looking over the city. It had been several weeks since his talk with Marinette, and he loved the scarf she had given him. He watched the Eiffel Tower in the distance, seeing as they turned the lights on as the sun went down. Smiling, he jumped down, starting his patrols. He had decided to start doing some patrols, in order to “keep the city safe”, otherwise known as “get out of the house”. 

To his surprise, he saw that Ladybug was sitting on a rooftop in front of him, looking at the lit-up tower in the distance. He landed on the roof, intentionally making noise so as not to surprise her. She looked over her shoulder, and Adrien was surprised to see that she had a somber expression on. 

“Hey, what’s up?”

Ladybug slumped her shoulders slightly. “I am just having a slightly rough week. There is… someone at school who really enjoys making my life a living hell. Then, she goes ahead and starts to rant about how she and Ladybug are best of friends. It is not a fun feeling to get compared to yourself, and not even be in the same spectrum.”

Adrien sat down next to her. “I understand. My… I have someone who thinks of me like that as well.”

Ladybug gave him a side-eye. “Is it this mystery person who you are trying to befriend?”

“No. I haven’t actually talked to her in a while. There never seems to be a good time to talk.”

Ladybug smiled. “You don’t need a good time to talk, Chat. You just have to want to talk. And, I will always want to talk, if you want.”

Adrien looked down. “Well, I don’t want to talk about things too personal about myself. It might give something away about something I don’t want to get out. As you yourself said, our identities are secret for a reason.”

Ladybug looked back at the tower. “Yeah. They are.” She was silent after that, watching the tower. She turned back after a few minutes. “Well, I’m out here to brood, but what brings you out here so late?”

“I like to do patrols at night. Keep the regular criminals away from the civilians.”

“What makes you do that?”

“A few weeks ago, some thugs decided to attack someone when I was nearby. When I went home that night, I did some research, and apparently, criminals like to think that we are only here for the akumas, and are taking advantage of the people who think that we are here to stop all crime. So, I stop what I can do.” Adrien looked at the tower. “The problem is, I can’t be everywhere. Every once in a while, I like to look at the Eiffel Tower. Remember what it is I am doing this for.”

Ladybug looked at him. “And why is that?”

“I am here to fight for the people who can’t fight for themselves. The girl I saved a few weeks ago, she was small. I don’t think that she really had too much of a chance against the group of large thugs who followed her. She might have had a chance, but I didn’t want to take that chance.”

Ladybug suddenly had a wistful look on her face. “I think I understand. I… would you mind if I decided to join you on these nightly patrols?”

Adrien looked at her in surprise. “I thought that you have a life to get to at night?”

Ladybug looked at the tower. “I think that I can get away from it when they all think I’m in bed. isn’t that how you do it?”

Adrien followed her gaze to the bright tower. “It doesn’t really take much for me to slip out unnoticed.”

Ladybug looked down. “I see. Well, I am going to join you, if you don’t mind. Help keep you company.”

Adrien smiled. “Well, I shall see you soon, then.”

Ladybug stood. “I would come tonight, if I could. But, I do have something to take care of. It might be a while, but I will definitely join you by the end of the week. There is someone who has said that they will stop by soon, but they haven’t. If they don’t stop by by the end of the week, I think I will just give up on them coming by.”

Adrien nodded. “I see. Well, you should get back to waiting for this mystery person of your own.”

Ladybug nodded a goodbye and jumped off, heading away. Adrien started to make his rounds again, and ended up at his usual location he ended his patrols: the building across from Marinettes’ bakery. He looked down at Marinette, who was sitting on top of her building, reading a book. She was curled up on a chair with a steaming mug sitting next to her.

Adrien nearly turned away, but what Ladybug said rang in his head. “You don’t need a good time to talk, Chat. You just have to want to talk.”

Adrien made up his mind. He was going to talk to her. Well, maybe she didn’t want him to talk to him? She was reading a book, maybe she was really into it. But, if he kept coming up with excuses, he would never get up the nerve to talk to her.

Adrien threw a small pebble from his roof onto her balcony, catching her attention. Marinette jumped, looking up and spotting him on the opposite roof. He gave an awkward smile and wave, and she smiled back, gesturing for him to join her on her balcony.

“I wasn’t sure that you would return.” Marinette said when Adrien had landed. “I mean, you probably save many people.”

Adrien smiled slightly. “Well, I figured that I should thank you for the awesome scarf. It is very nice. I can’t believe that you made it!”

Marinette looked downward, blushing slightly. “I have been sketching designs for a few years now, and have recently started to make the things I design.”

Adrien smiled. “You really have a gift for these things.” He was just about to mention that he might be able to get her a good word with his father, but managed to catch himself in time.

“Thank you, Chat Noir.”

Adrien glanced at the book Marinette had been reading. “Well, it looks like I am interrupting something important. This looks like a school textbook.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “It is. Physics. I’m good at physics, but I am not great. I mean, some of these equations are just… ugh.”

Adrien stifled a laugh. As it turned out, physics was one of his best subjects in his lessons at home. “Maybe you should find someone who can help you.”

Marinette gave a short laugh. “Nino is no good, and Alya always has to help her sisters, she would probably try to murder me if I tried to get her to help another person with school.”

Adrien thought for a moment. “Is there anyone else that you know who might be able to help?”

Marinette shook her head. “No, that’s the extent of people that I know well enough to just ask for help with physics.”

“Maybe you should ask someone who you don’t know as well. Who knows, you might get lucky. Well, I am sorry, but I think that I must go for now. It’s getting pretty late.”

Marinette grabbed his arm as he turned to leave. “Hey, Chat? I know that this may be asking a lot of you, but… well… do you know a lot about physics?”

Adrien froze. Damn, he was planning on running into her again tomorrow, and hoping that she would ask him then. He was supposed to get to know her as Adrien, right? So why was he about to agree? “Yeah, I do! I can swing by every once in a while to lend a helping hand.”

Marinette smiled, letting go of his arm. “Would you be able to come by tomorrow, then?”

Adrien smiled back. “Sure! I’ll be here at around 9:00. Sound good?”

Marinette nodded. With that, Adrien took off towards his house, his mind a cacophony of “Shit”s and “Fuck”s. Why did he just agree to that?

**Marinette**

Marinette fell into her bed. “What did I just do, Tikki?”

Tikki swooped up, giving Marinette a strange look. “What do you mean?”

“I just asked Chat Noir if he would tutor me in physics! Doesn’t he have better things to do with his time?”

Tikki giggled. “Well, if he is willing, you might be able to learn a thing or two about your partner!!”

Marinette sighed, looking up at her ceiling. “Well, I was actually thinking that I should ask Adrien, as well. I mean, he seems to be trying so hard to become friends with people. But, what would Alya and Nino think? They seem to think that he is the spawn of evil, no matter what I tell them.”

Tikki clasped her hands behind herself, swinging back and forth. “Well, things will work out, one way or another.”

Marinette sighed, and went back up through the skylight to grab her book. Then, she turned off her lights and went to bed.

The next day, Marinette had a hard time focusing on her teacher. She was going to be tutored by Chat Noir tonight! She wanted to tell Alya, but she knew that Alya would want to be there, so she could interview Chat Noir. Also, Alya would want to know how Marinette managed such a thing as that.

Marinette was relieved when the school bell rang, and she practically ran out of the school, walking back to her house. Alya and Nino had some sort of thing going on, which they wouldn’t tell Marinette about. But, it involved a lot of whispering and looking at Marinette during lunch. 

Marinette was almost home when she spotted a familiar figure a ways away. Adrien stood on the sidewalk, waiting to cross. It was the same crosswalk that Marinette used to get to her house, something that did not bother her as much as she would have thought. 

She stepped up next to him, wondering what to say. She didn’t have much time to think if over, however, since Adrien suddenly jumped into the air, letting out a clipped cry. “Ah! Marinette! I didn’t see you there!”

Marinette looked at him with wide eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you!”

Adrien gave a weak smile. “It’s fine. I was just spaced out for a second. School just let out?”

Marinette nodded. “Yeah. I’m just on my way home now.”

“Allow me to walk you home, then.”

“Sure. It’s not too far away.” Marinette glanced behind herself, feeling like she was being watched.

They started to cross the street in silence. There was some tension in the air, which Marinette had no idea how to break. Adrien cleared his throat. “So, um, what do you like to do with your free time?”

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “Interesting conversation starter. I like to design things sometimes, but I don’t get too much free time to myself, between school and the bakery.”

Adrien smiled slightly. “I bet that you’re pretty good at designing. Do you also create the things you design?”

“Sometimes.” Marinette was still feeling slightly awkward talking to Adrien so freely.

Adrien frowned slightly, but Marinette couldn’t figure out why. “That sounds like fun.”

Marinette let the conversation lag slightly, trying to think of something to say. Eventually, she settled on: “What do you like to do?”

“I like to explore the city when I can, but when I can’t, I’ll watch anime, or play video games. I especially like Ultimate Mecha Strike 3.”

Marinette was about to tell him that she loved that game as well, but as they rounded the corner to the bakery, she saw Alya and Nino standing on the sidewalk ahead of them, their arms crossed, and their expressions hard. 

“Marinette. Care to tell me what you’re doing with him?” Alya pointed at Adrien, who shrunk down like a child in trouble. Nino just stood there, looking slightly awkward.

“Alya, he isn’t actually that bad. He just wants to get to know more people. Chloe pulled a dirty trick on him that day, making it seem like they were close friends.” Marinette hoped that Alya would believe her, otherwise this could get interesting. Of course, according to Marinettes’ luck, Alya remained vigilant.

“How do you know that he was telling the truth, Marinette? Maybe he is just trying to get some stories for him and Chloe to laugh at. Isn’t he the one who took your sketchbook?”

Marinette held up the sketchbook in question. “You mean this one, the one he gave back to me as soon as he could?”

Alya finally seemed to lose some of her momentum. “Well, he… He is still friends with Chloe. Her friends can’t ever be trusted!”

Marinette was about to retort, but Nino stepped forward. “Alya, Adrien and Marinette were just talking. I was watching closely, and Adrien remained a decent distance away from Marinette, and made no moves to do anything to her. Also, he admitted to Marinette that he watches anime and plays video games. I don’t think that someone with malicious intent would do that.”

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows. “How did you know that I told her that?”

“You talk pretty loud, bro.”

Adrien shrunk back down. Marinette stepped forward. “Adrien sought me out specifically to give me the sketchbook. I have talked to him, and if he is planning something with Chloe, then he is a damn good actor, and I deserve whatever happens. Did you guys seriously follow us, just to confront me about the people I spend my time with?”

Alya finally seemed like she had lost her fire. “Marinette… I…”

Marinette felt her heart melt a little at the sight of Alya standing there looking so defeated. So, she stepped forward and pulled Alya into a hug. “I know that you are just looking out for me. I suppose that I didn’t look at it from your side.”

Nino stepped up to Adrien, extending his hand. “I remember when you didn’t rat out Chloe. You seem like a cool dude.”

Adrien straightened a little, shaking it. “Thanks Nino.” Nino raised an eyebrow. “Ah, I have a good memory. Also, Marinette mentioned you a few minutes ago.”

Nino smiled, leading Adrien to the girls, who were now just standing, Marinette with her arm around Alyas’ shoulders. “Hey Alya, Nino. We should all hang out. Adrien, you’re invited as well, of course. We can go for some ice cream at the shop down the road!” Marinette started leading the way.

**Adrien**

Adrien didn’t believe it! Marinette actually stood up for him! Chloe would have just threatened the person, rather than stood up for him. And, after such an exchange, they were all still friends, and Alya was even willing to give him a chance!

Adrien followed everyone to the ice cream parlor, pulling up the hood of his sweater. Alya raised an eyebrow at this. “What’s with the hoodie?”

“It would be rather distracting if I’m recognized. Also, my father doesn’t exactly know that I am gone.”

Nino gave a low whistle. “What type of guy would just ignore his son to that degree? If I ever snuck out, I would be caught in a heartbeat!”

Adrien shrugged. “He has a lot on his plate, I guess.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. Alya, however, looked like she was about to explode. “You expect us to believe that? Why don’t you prove it?”

Adrien gave a half smile, pulling out his phone and pulling up his information page. “Look at the birthday. It’s in a few days. When that day arrives, take a look at Agreste Manor. I guarantee that it will be extremely unchanged, unless my father decides to change up our lawn care routine. I’ll get maybe… a pen from my father. It’s what he got last year. And the year before that. It goes back a while.”

Alya still had a slightly skeptical face, Nino seemed pissed, and Marinette glowered at the table. The look was one of intense thought. She suddenly jumped up, saying that she had something to take care of. Without further ado, Marinette left the parlor, leaving Adrien alone with a skeptical reporter, and an apparently very hungry… DJ? Adrien was pretty sure Nino had mentioned that before.

There was a scuff outside, and a small screech, and Alya stood. “I guess that I should go help her. She’s a little bit of a klutz.” 

Adrien frowned. He had never actually seen Marinette fall. She always seemed to have this sort of grace to her movements, like a dancer would. Her being clumsy was not something that seemed logical to him. But, he guessed that he didn’t really see her very often.

He and Nino talked about this and that for a while, Adrien talking about anime, and Nino talking about his DJ skills (Adrien totally called it). However, when Alya didn’t return, Adrien and Nino decided that they might as well go their separate ways. 

Adrien arrived at his house, and this time didn’t see any of the lackluster decorations around as he made his way to his room. He was too distracted by the fact that he might have just made a few new friends!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I might not be able to maintain any sort of writing schedule (I never had one with this story, but now it never will have one) because work has changed drastically, and I don't have as much free time to write. 
> 
> Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed!!!!!


	6. Chats about homework

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat meets up with Marinette to help her with some homework. Meanwhile, Adrien is blind to certain plans involving him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!
> 
> I am so sorry for the hiatus that this has taken. It was not intentional, but life decided to start rearing its' ugly head, and I had to deal with that. But, I am BACK!!!!!!!!

It was 9:00. Time for Adrien, well, Chat Noir, to meet Marinette at her house to help her with physics. He was there, on time, on the rooftop across from her balcony, thinking over how stupid this actually was. Here he was, Chat Noir, one half of the superhero duo, saving Paris from akumas on a very frequent basis. Now, here he was, helping Marinette with her homework. What would Ladybug think if she could see him now?

But, there was something that forced him to go to the balcony: Adrien had given his word to Marinette. And, Adrien made a point to never go back on his word.

So, Chat Noir found himself knocking on the door to the trapdoor to Marinettes room. It opened a moment later, and Marinette let him in. When Chat dropped in, he was immediately hit by something. This room was extremely pink. The walls were pink, the floor was pink, and everything in it had at least one pink thing on it. 

The walls were covered in various fashion design posters, showcasing several different fashion houses. Chat quickly found the one from his fathers’ company. Actually, there were several posters from his company. A few had him on it, but they were covered up mostly. Wait, Marinette said that she enjoyed designing? Chat had thought that she meant graphic design, since she was also drawing on her tablet a lot. But, did she mean fashion design?

There was a package sitting on the desk, covered in some fabric, like Marinette had thrown it on top before he had arrived. Chat, for some reason, found himself hoping that it was for him, as a gift for his birthday. So, he just turned to face Marinette. “So, how can I help?”

Marinette pulled her homework to herself, turning it to show Chat. “Here. We are talking about the vectors of swinging pendulums. I can’t seem to figure this equation out. How does this become this?”

Chat furrowed his brow, looking it over. “Here. If you...” Chat helped Marinette figure the equation out. It was a way to figure out the vector of a swinging pendulum. Chat actually found that it was easier to think of it in terms of Ladybug swinging around. When he told Marinette about this, she stiffened, giving him a strange look from the side of her eyes. However, she turned back to the paper, and her eyes dawned in realization.

“So, if we do this...” Marinette sketched something on the paper really quickly, turning the diagram into a sketch of a street, with a streetlamp acting as the fulcrum of the pendulum. “And Ladybug attaches her yo-yo here...” Another quick sketch, and there was a person who was swinging from the end of the line. “And we assume that Ladybug is obviously defending a town on Jupiter, since she weighs 1300 pounds or 590 kilograms, these damn American units, why do we have to learn them? Anyways. She would probably swing at...” 

This method of reasoning actually seemed to be really helping Marinette. She was figuring this all out while also seeming very distracted by something. Eventually, the hour that they had was up, and Chat Noir had to go meet Ladybug for patrol.

Adrien bowed, taking Marinettes’ hand and making to kiss it. “I regret to say it, but it is time for me to depart and meet my Lady for patrol.”

Marinette pulled her hand free, raising an amused eyebrow. “Really? Is that what we’re calling it these days?”

Adrien stared at her. “What? I don’t know what that means. We really are going on patrol.”

Marinette opened her mouth, but then closed it, instead going to open the trapdoor. “Thank you for the help with the homework.”

Chat took a sweeping bow. “Of course, Marinette. Perhaps I shall stop by again sometime soon?”

**MARINETTE**

Marinette raised an eyebrow for a second, but lowered it just as quickly. Something seemed off about him using just her normal name. After all, he always called Ladybug something fun, didn’t he?

Chat left, and Marinette stares after him for a while, then Tikki swooped in front of her. “Marinette, you have patrol with him, don’t you?”

Marinette jumped. “Ah! Of course!!!! Tikki, spots on!!”

With a magical flash, her costume appeared on her, and Ladybug jumped out of her window. She went towards the Trocadero, since that was where she always found Chat sitting. Tonight was no exception. Chat was sitting on the steps, his eyes distant. 

It was then that Ladybug remembered something important. Alya had talked to her earlier in the day and had invited her to go on a trip to Milan, since Alya knew that Marinette had been wanting to go for a while. Alya was going for a journalism seminar thing going on that her parents let her go to. Marinette had agreed to go, but had then totally forgotten to tell Chat that she would be gone for a few days. Well, he didn’t exactly give her a lot of time before saying that he was planning on coming back.

However, she could warn him that Ladybug would be gone for a little bit, though. She stepped up and sat down next to him, joining him in his contemplation of the Eiffel Tower. “Hey, Chat.”

Chat looked over, and instead of the usual melancholy he had on his face when she met up with him here, he looked happy. “Hey, Bugaboo! Fancy seeing you here.”

Ladybug smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Bugaboo, huh? Is this how you treat all of the girls in your life?”

Chat grinned. “Only the fun ones.”

Ladybug smiled back and leaned back on her elbows. “So, what’s the plan for patrol?”

Chat stood up, offering her his hand. “Well, I usually just swing around and see if I can find any people doing some unsavory things.”

Ladybug took the hand and stood, pulling out her yo-yo. Before she could throw it, Chat held up his finger, his head cocked to the side and a smile growing slowly on his face. “Well well well, it seems that we shall have an early night tonight. There is a mugging going on about, um, three streets that way? Yeah. Shall we?” With that, he started down the street, heading towards whatever his ears could hear that hers could not. Did the miraculous extend their abilities, then? Perhaps similar to whatever animal they were representative of?

Chat had arrived a little bit before , but the criminals were already standing defensively. One of them saw Ladybug arriving, and raised a knife as if to slash her when she landed. Well, Marinette had been wondering if their suits could stop knives…

It turned out that she didn’t need to worry, since Chat became a blur of motion and knocked the knife from his hand before she had even landed. As she landed, she stopped the other man who was moving to hit Chat with a bat. The third man had another bat, and Chat didn’t have the time to worry about both the knife guy and the bat guy, while Ladybug was too far at this point. So, Chat summoned his cataclysm and destroyed the knife, then turned to grab the bat from the assailants’ hands. Ladybug grit her teeth and yanked the bat from her guys’ hands, shoving him towards his partners.   
They called the police and waited, Ladybug comforting the victim while Chat watched the muggers. Roughly four minutes later, the police arrived and took the muggers into custody, while Chats’ ring beeped insistently. Ladybug walked up to him and pointedly looked at the ring. “You need to go, Chat. But, before you go, I should tell you that I will be out of town for a few days. I think you should be able to hold down the fort. I will be leaving in about a few days.”

Chat nodded. “I think that I can take care of anything that happens. I will talk with my kwami about how to deal with akumas, but if I want to make it home, I’m afraidIwillhavetogoseeyabye!!” Chat vaulted away and dashed away from Ladybug, leaving her to finish explaining what had happened to the police.

**ADRIEN**

Adrien woke up and felt a sudden crushing feeling in his chest. Today was his birthday. The one day of the year where he should see his father, and have his father give him a present. The one day where Adrien should be allowed to freely wander around Paris without worrying about anything on his schedule. Well, at least he did have a free schedule.

Adrien presented himself to Nathalie to let her know that he was awake, and to get some breakfast. Then, he went back to his room. Adrien had spent the last several years spending his birthday stuck in his room trying to find something to do. Adrien perked up, though. This year, he had a secret weapon. This year, he had Plagg.

Adrien downed the rest of his breakfast and had to restrain himself from running back to his room. Instead, he walked calmly into his room and closed the door softly, just like he always did. Then, he opened his jacket and started to call for Plagg. However, the small cat was not in his jacket. 

“Adrien! I have your gift over here!” Plagg floated over, holding a piece of Camembert in his paws. At least Plagg bothered to wrap it in a bow.

“Thanks, Plagg, but I don’t think I need that.” Adrien politely declined.

“Suit yourself.” Plagg threw the cheese into the air and ate it all in one bite, bow and all. 

“Well, now that you’re all charged up, let’s get going, shall we?” Adrien held up his ring.

“What? Why do we need to go now?” Plagg wandered around the room in search of more cheese.

“Well, it’s my birthday and I want to get some sightseeing in. So, Plagg, claws out!” Adrien summoned his transformation, and opened up his window, jumping out into the nice clear morning.

Adrien dropped to the street and let Plagg release, walking towards the Trocadero. It had become a nice place for him to gather his mind before starting his secret days. However, as Adrien approached the Trocadero stairs, his day was interrupted by screaming. 

Alya, Nino, and Marinette were standing at the base of the stairs, screaming “Happy Birthday” at him. Adrien stopped in his tracks, his eyes going wide. What was this? The three of them not only remembered his birthday (something that his father sometimes forgot, and Adrien was sure that Nathalie did as well), but they took the day off of school to celebrate it with him?  
Nino walked up to pat Adrien on the shoulder. “We figured that if your old man won’t celebrate your birthday with you, we might as well take over. Marinette figured that you would want to come here eventually, so we waited. Not for too long, though, so nice guessing, Marinette.”

Marinette smiled. “Well, anyone with half a mind would want to make the Trocadero a common place in their life. It’s a beautiful place.”

Adrien smiled back at her. “It really is. Thank you guys so much! I can’t believe that you went through so much trouble for me!”

Alya stepped forward. “Well, after the ice cream parlor, we figured that maybe you weren’t that much like Chloe. You’re actually pretty neat, so here we are. Now, shall we?”

Adrien looked at them in confusion. “What are we doing?”

Marinette huffed. “We are celebrating your birthday, of course. Did you think that the screaming was the only thing we were doing for you? No, we are going to the park and having fun today.”

Nino grabbed Adrien by the arm and started pulling him away. “Let’s go, bro. We even got Marinettes’ parents to get us some of their goods for lunch.”

Adrien nearly opened his mouth to protest, but Ninos’ face made him stop. Perhaps this birthday would not be too bad…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little ending I have for you here!!!!!
> 
> You might be able to guess what is coming next.


	7. kittens and bugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of the Bubbler.
> 
> Ladybug and Chat Noir fight an interesting akuma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be skipping most of the akuma battles that were shown in the show, since we have already seen them. But I will also be throwing in some new akumas.

Well, Adrien was wrong about the birthday thing. Now, he was facing down against an akuma with Ladybug, who was acting all agitated, like she was interrupted doing something important. Perhaps he was. But it was definitely not worse than his thing. This akuma was interrupting his first actual birthday party. Worse than that, the akuma was Nino. Nino, the person who had taken Adrien under his wing almost instantly, the person who decided to try to throw am actual party for him. The person who decided that approaching Nathalie at the gate under the pretense that he was inviting Adrien out was a good idea. The person who got so upset by the answer that he turned into an akuma designed to throw Adrien a party. However, he had thrown bubbles at all of the adults, sending them into the sky. Well that’s great. Ladybug came up with a clever way to get them down, and they wrapped him up pretty quickly. 

Adrien was forced to remain in his house because of the “disruptive influence of his friends who he shouldn’t even know”. However, in typical fashion, he was just sent to remain in his room and nobody bothered to check on him, which left him free to just transform again and go to find Nino. 

Adrien found him in the park with the two girls. Adrien glanced at Alya, but his eyes stayed on Marinette. After a few seconds, Adrien forced himself to tear his eyes from Marinette and face Nino.

“Hey, Nino! I have to say thank you.”

Nino turned sad eyes to him. “For what? I turned into an akuma and probably got you into big trouble. I created a big mess.”

Adrien grabbed him by the shoulder. “Yeah, I got into trouble. I was sent to my room because I’m not supposed to know anyone outside of what my father approves of. But, that is literally no different from what happens on a daily basis, anyways. I am never supposed to be randomly wandering around the mansion, so I’m basically just supposed to stay in my room. You, however, tried to throw me a birthday party, which is more than anyone else has tried to do before.”

Nino looked shocked. “So, why are you out here, then, dude? Won’t you be in trouble if you’re caught out here?”

Adrien laughed. “Yes, you’re right. I would probably be locked in my room with a constant guard 24/7 if I was caught sneaking out. But, someone would have to bother checking on me for that to happen.”

There was a noise behind Nino, and Adrien looked up to see Marinette angrily whispering something into Alya’s ear, and Alya nodded grimly. Adrien wondered what Marinette had said, but Nino grabbed onto him in a fierce hug before he could think on it more. 

“Thanks, bro. I think that’s what I needed to hear. Not the whole ‘your family doesn’t check up on you’ thing, the other thing.”

Adrien patted Nino on the back. “Of course, Nino.”

Marinette stepped forward “Well, Adrien, you have perfect timing. We were just about to go to lunch together.”

Nino looked over to her. “What-” he was cut off as Marinette slapped a hand to his mouth without looking. 

“Does that cafe over there sound good?” Marinette pointed to a small cafe at the corner of the street. 

“Sounds great!” Adrien didn’t actually have any idea if it looked good, since he had never done anything like this before, so he decided to trust in Marinettes’ intuition.

**MARINETTE**

Marinette was livid. She was absolutely pissed. Adrien was made to just sit in his room all day? That first time he was at the school seemed like it was the first time he had tried to leave the house, so he hasn’t been doing this for very long. What type of family did he have, that they didn’t ever even poke a head in his room to see how he is doing? Marinette would always get mad at her parents for doing so, but now that she knew the alternative, she decided that she preferred her parents being nosy.

They arrived at the cafe, and Adrien seemed to be in some sort of alien land. He was looking all over the place, a goofy smile on his face. Marinette elbowed him in the ribs and pointed to the menu. “What do you want?”

Adrien looked at the menu, his eyebrows getting closer and closer until he gave it back, saying “I don’t know what any of this means. 

Nino swooped in, grabbing the menu. “Alright, bro, I will teach you the ways of the cafe.”  
As Nino started explaining the various foods to Adrien, Marinette shuffled over to Alya. “What the hell is wrong with his father?”

Alya shrugged “His father is in charge of an entire fashion empire. Maybe he keeps his schedule busy.”

“But he should still make time for his son!” Marinette protested.

“Yes, he should. You can’t exactly do anything about that, so stop worrying about it, girl!”

Marinette grumbled, but took her place in line and ordered. Adrien and Nino were sitting at a table waiting for them as they approached. Marinette sat across from Adrien and watched as he examined his food. Marinette determined to make sure to teach Adrien all the various ways of society. He really needed it, it seems. 

**ALYA**

Several days after the cafe outing, Alya was walking towards a cafe where she was meeting up with the other three. Alya had noticed that Marinette was getting close to Adrien, but for some reason, she never really got super close. Such a shame, Alya could see the two of them being a really cute couple. Before she got to the street with the cafe, screams broke out. Everyone pulled out their phones and checked the news, seeing that there was an akuma on the loose. Alya thought that the Ladyblog could do with an akuma alert system that people could get, so they could be warned if there was an akuma in their area.

Alya saw Nino walking down the street, and ran towards him. “Have you seen Marinette or Adrien?”

Nino shook his head. “If they’re smart, they aren’t going to be around here anytime soon. I suppose you’re going to hunt down the akuma?” As Alya nodded, Nino pointed. “Let’s go, then.”

They quickly found the akuma, and Alya started recording. “Hello Ladyblog followers, Alya here to film the latest akuma! There she is, the one in the bright red, and very hairy, outfit. The power of this one is still unknown, but I would rather they didn’t test it on me!”

Alya sneaked around, following the akuma as close as she dared. Within a few minutes, Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived on scene. 

“Hey, fur face! What’s ruffling your tail?” Chat shouted in the direction of the akuma.

“Chat, she doesn’t have a tail.” Ladybug crouched next to him, watching the akuma critically. As usual, Alya found something sort of familiar with Ladybug, and for the first time, she found something familiar about Chat Noir. But no matter what she tried to figure out, Alya could never figure out why she found out why she found them familiar. 

“It seems that Ladybug and Chat Noir have appeared on scene, Ladyblog. Let’s see how they take this one down! I-” 

Alya was cut off as Nino tackled her to the side, and she dropped her phone. The akuma had seen her, and sent a blast of something to her, but Nino had shoved her over, and took the blast himself. Alya scrambled up and saw Nino walking lethargically toward the nearby park. Looking around, Alya saw that the akuma had been blasting some people, and they were all acting like various animals. Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped down and started approaching the akuma, who laughed. 

“I think that I have the perfect animals for you two.” The akuma sent two blasts towards them, and the two heroes dodged them easily. However, the akuma seemed to have guessed their moves correctly, and had sent out two more blasts to where they ended up after dodging. So, both heroes ended up being hit by the blasts. 

Ladybug immediately crouched down and examined a flower, while Chat looked around, his ears perked up. He saw Ladybug, and started going towards her, but she saw him and darted away to another patch of plants. To Alya’s surprise, she started plucking something off of the plants and eating them. Chat crouched and sneakily crawled towards Ladybug, then reached out his hand and hovered it over her head. Then, he gently pat her head. Ladybug whirled around, and almost ran again, but stopped and examined Chats face closely. Then, she kissed him on the nose. 

Right then, the akuma came up behind Chat and grabbed him, pulling him away. Ladybug startled away again, and crouched a ways away, watching. Chat looked at the akuma, his ears lying flat on his head. 

“Well well, little kitty. How about you give me that ring of yours, and then I’ll go take the earrings from that Ladybug over there?” The akuma said. 

Chat looked back at Ladybug, who looked back with a scared expression on her face, then Chat looked back at the akuma, his eyes narrowed and his ears alert. A low growl vibrated through the air. Alya had never even heard anything like before. It actually kinda made her a bit scared of the superhero. 

Chat yowled and started pawing at the akuma, who started running away. Chat let her go, and went to stand next to Ladybug, hissing. Ladybug grabbed onto his back, watching the akuma with scared eyes. It was very disconcerting to see the proud and strong Ladybug looking so scared. 

Chat, on the other hand, was looking downright _ferocious_. He watched the akuma with narrow pupils, his tail twitching. The akuma started down to try and grab the earrings, but Chat darted out his hand and batted the akuma down. Then, he jumped onto the akuma, looking around for something, then scratched at the necklace hanging from the akumas’ necklace. As the butterfly fluttered away, Chat jumped after it, almost playfully, before he hit it against the ground, killing it. Just like that, the spell seemed to be broken, and everyone went back to their original personalities. 

As Nino ran up to Alya, Chat helped Ladybug up to her feet, and they both took off. 

“Man, that was crazy. I didn’t even have any goals beyond finding lettuce. I just kinda meandered about. What was that?” Nino straightened his hat.

“I think the akuma made you think you were a turtle. It made Chat Noir and Ladybug think they were a kitten and a ladybug, respectively.”

Nino whistled, “I can’t wait to see the footage.”

Alya nodded. “Hey, it’s Marinette!! And Adrien!!”

Marinette gave a half-hearted wave, and Adrien seemed happy about something. Alya couldn’t place why they were in such moods, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were connected somehow. But why?

She was going to have to do some investigating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was literally just an excuse to get Ladybug and Chat Noir to act like their respective animals.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you are enjoying the story so far!!! 
> 
> First of all, a big shout out to my beta reader, [Kaycee003](https://kaycee003.tumblr.com/)!!!!!!! Click the name to be directed to their tumblr page. They are a wonderful person.
> 
> Secondly, to be a narcissist, [Here](https://allmyfandomthings.tumblr.com/) is the link to my own tumblr!!!
> 
> I hope you continue to enjoy this story, and feel free to leave a comment!!! I thrive on the comments on my stories!!!!!!


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